LITMIR.BIZ

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crutches under my armpits and stared up at the house. The setting sun haloed it in a reddish hue, making it appear more menacing than necessary.

      Marie walked next to me as I navigated with the stupid sticks. I peeked behind me and only saw Cooper. Where were the rest of the Guard?

      “The wards around the house are impenetrable against the Shadowed.”

       How did he—?

      I opened my mouth to ask but Marie and Henry were in hearing distance.

      Cooper shook his head slightly and disappeared.

      Marie’s key ring jangled as she unlocked the front door. Henry stayed behind me as I hobbled into the foyer and stopped, admiring the stunning interior.

      Black marble covered the floors leading up to double staircases spanning each wall. Sparkling surfaces winked at me in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the skylight. On the left was a formal dining room and on the right a parlor. The air smelled fresh and I inhaled several times, taking it in.

      “I’ll make you something to eat, Ms. Ally,” Marie said and shuffled under the archway toward the kitchen.

      So far, Ally’s memories were precise.

      “Feel better, Ally,” Henry said, taking his leave from the house.

      Cooper appeared in front of me. I lifted Ally’s hands up in fists at him and he jumped back.

      “This room is gigantic,” I said through gritted teeth. “You couldn’t land anywhere else?”

      He laughed.

      I groaned and walked into the parlor, inspecting the room, leaning the crutches against the door frame.

      “You have to use those,” Cooper pointed out, picking up the crutches.

      “Only when Marie is around,” I said, taking in the plush leather couches and mahogany furniture. I could get used to this house.

      “Or any other human,” he corrected.

      “Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled.

      “Yeah,” he said firmly, holding them out.

      I took them from him, but he didn’t let go. We stood within inches of each other, the crutches a link between our bodies. I looked into his gray eyes. At that distance, I could see small flecks of color in his irises.

      “What?” he asked.

      I tore my gaze away from his and tucked the pads of the crutches under Ally’s arms leaning into them.

      “You’re doing well,” he encouraged. “Just keeping being human.”

      Ally’s heart thumped hard in her chest. “What did you just say?” I tucked a finger in the opening of the pocket door and slid it shut.

      Cooper’s gaze suddenly found something very interesting on the floor.

      “Be human?” I mimicked his voice, stepping toward him.

      He moved back.

      “I’d like to know where you got that from,” I said, Ally’s face flushed.

      He held his hands up defensively. “Listen, I don’t make the rules—”

      “What rules?” I demanded, pointing a crutch at him.

      “Okay,” he conceded. “But let me explain. You know how you can feel a human through the True Soul?”

      “Yes?”

      “The Guard have a similar connection with an assigned Prognatum. It helps me keep in touch with Ally. To always know where to find her and help steer her toward a positive outcome in her life.”

      I wiped Ally’s damp hands on her jeans. “But your human isn’t in here.” I splayed her hands across her stomach.

      “Yet,” he started, “unlike the True Soul, it’s a connection between the body and the Guard. Not the soul. The link is only broken after the transformation.”

      “So, since I am inside of her, you can read my thoughts?” I tried to think back to any incriminating thoughts I’d had as Ally so far.

      “I can’t hear your exact thoughts,” he said. “If that helps.”

      “Not really!”

      “But,” he continued, “they can bleed through the connection if they are strong enough. And—”

      “And what?” I asked

      Cooper smiled sheepishly. “You have a lot of strong thoughts,” he mumbled.

      “Unbelievable.” I stepped away from Cooper, needing space, yet he would always know what I was thinking.

      “Can’t you tune me out or something? This is an invasion of privacy.”

      He shrugged. “It’s not something I can turn off.”

      “Fantastic,” I said.

      “Ms. Ally?” Marie called from the foyer.

      “The stronger the emotion, the more I can hear,” he reminded me before disappearing again.

      “The stronger the emotion,” I mocked.

      Marie opened the door. “Who are you talking to?”

      I shrugged. “No one.”

      Her eyes scanned the room, as if she didn’t believe me. “Your food is ready.”

      Since souls didn’t need to eat, I didn’t realize how much I’d been missing until I tasted Marie’s cooking.

      “I think you’ve had enough,” Cooper said.

      “No way,” I said between bites of the most delectable meal ever. I used the fork and Ally’s fingers to scoop up as much of the salad and grilled chicken as I could. I’d also convinced Marie to slice up the homemade sourdough bread that rested on the massive marble kitchen island. I slathered butter on the slices and nearly died over and over again with each bite.

      Joseph had been on the right track with the food situation. How did humans get through the day without having food at their side?

      “You’re loud again,” Cooper said.

      “Don’t care,” I was using the bread to soak up the remaining dressing from the plate until it was dry. “More,” I said, licking Ally’s fingers.

      Cooper stood up from the chair. “No way. Ally’s going to be pissed enough when she finds out you ate two pieces of bread. She’s been on this no carb diet lately.”

      I remembered how Marie looked when I’d asked to have some of the bread. Almost as if I was baiting her.

      I looked down at Ally’s tight abs. She could definitely use one more piece of bread.

      I grabbed for another piece, yet before I could bring it to my mouth, Cooper appeared next to me, snatching it out of my hand.

      “Hey!”

      He leaned down, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Done.”

      Marie shuffled into the dining room and looked at the plate. She closed one eye and stared at me. “How hard did you hit your head, Ms. Ally?”

      “Huh?” I asked.

      “I haven’t seen you clear a plate since you were twelve.”

      “Well,” I started, attempting to channel Ally, “I’ve been in the hospital for two days. I can’t live off pudding.”

      “Hmm,” Marie mumbled. “Okay, well let’s get you washed up and into bed to rest.”

      Marie led me up the stairs and down a long hallway to Ally’s bedroom. She went in first, walking to the right. I glanced around the neatly arranged room. A king-size bed

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